Rumours of Olympics event changes

Originally posted by iiiiticki Thank you Chris 249 for your detailed reply. However you do seem to be advocating 'no change'? Are we to stick with Laser for ever then, for all the reasons you give? Should we still have the Flying Dutchman (however lovely) rather than the 49er? I didn't say that, but if we are going to change to a newer class why in the world would we change to a boat like the Byte CII which has basically a 1970s concept and hull shape? And no, I don't see a reason to change for changes' sake.  You seem to separate club sailors from Olympians but from club sailors mighty Olympians do grow! The point is that YOU seem to want to separate club sailors from Olympians. Around the world club sailors overwhelmingly choose Lasers over Bytes - Jim has shown the size of the margin.  At the moment there is no separation. Olympians and future Olympians can sail Lasers at club level and they certainly have done so. If the Byte came in as the women's boat, then the separation would have to occur. It would have to occur in much of Africa, Oceania, the USA, South America and Europe, where the Byte class is tiny or non-existent. At the moment there is no separation so why do you want to create it?  Byte has an International Class Association and a World Championship. There are Byte manufacturers throughout the World and it is particularly popular in the Far East.  As far as de-selecting Laser causing hardship by making the boats redundant at club level, well in GB that has already happened and I believe that our club is fairly representative. I have not seen a new Laser in ten years whereas in the last three years we have had 3 new Bytes, 3 new Aeros and 2 new Supernovas.....or should that be Supernovi? The only Lasers seen on the water are beaten up club boats and Lasers are effective weed suppressants at most clubs in the UK. Wrong. The last UK Laser nationals had 130 boats that were four years old or less. That's in just one regatta. That indicates a rate of UK new boat purchase well above the 50 Bytes built in 2 years. Look at a globe. The UK is a small island off Europe. It has arguably the world's best dinghy scene in some ways but it is highly unusual and only a tiny fraction of the world sailing scene. So what is (allegedly) happening in the UK is almost completely irrelevant to an Olympic class. I can't actually find information to confirm the Byte is very big in Asia - 35 boats at the Singapore nationals is respectable, but tiny compared to the Radial fleets in the world. The Laser is a very popular boat and has a valid place in the sailing firmament but is it still relevant at what should be the pinnacle of the sport?  It's the world's most popular racing dinghy, apart perhaps from the Opti. In what way is that irrelevant? Is it more "relevant" to use an even slower and vastly less popular boat, like the Byte? By the way, when we got the Bytes out here the female Olympic aspirant (world Youth rep) I asked said she didn't like them. I wouldn't normally bring that up but if you insist on making negative remarks about another class then I may as well do so about yours. As far as the lighter weight men's class goes I do not know of an international alternative but for ladies that alternative already exists, was designed for the job and does already have a Worldwide following and class structure which just needs tweaking a little.

Originally posted by JimC Originally posted by iiiiticki What is that quote, "There are lies, damned lies and statistics". That really is one of the stupidest false aphorisms ever devised. Its use is somewhat reminiscent of Godwin's law...

Edited by Chris 249 - 07 Sep 16 at 3:00pm

Anyway, the Finn has had it.....i bought one. I seem to be the kiss of death for every other class I've bought

Originally posted by rich96 Is this Byte V Radial debate really worth it ? The Radial is faster, more popular, more available and half of the sailing world have never seen a Byte ? There are lots of 'good' boats that wont ever be used in the Olympics

Think your right. Lasers will continue to be the dominant single hander for years/ decades. Must say I was wasn't surprised how low the number of new lasers sold was. If you take out the number sold to national squads and holiday companies there cannot be many sold to normal club sailors. Certainly at my club nobody has brought a new laser since 2000 and I am the only member to buy a second hand one in that time. In fact in that time we have gone from having a small fleet to only having two regular laser sailors. One who sails on Wednesday evening's and me on Sunday's.

Edited by zeon - 07 Sep 16 at 6:31pm